Paris

We spent the last two days in Paris! It was so wonderful and such a romantic few days. After a rough train ride that we were lucky to make, we decided our first stop would be the Eiffel Tower. We waited in line for about 3 FREEZING hours before finally making it to the top. Although it was cold and long, it was perfect and worth the wait. The views from the top were spectacular.

After being outside in the cold for hours, we had some much needed coffee before heading over to the Arc de Triomphe and a few other sites before dinner. The next day started with unpleasant rain and a lot of sight seeing. We did everything from Notre Dame to the Royal Palace. It was a long day, but we were able to see everything we wanted to see.

After a short nap, we headed out for a great French dinner. The food was unbelievable and the ambience was exactly what we imagined. It was such a wonderful and magic 2 days! We left this morning for Dublin. This will be a little change of pace, but we will definitely be welcoming the New Year in the perfect place!

Happy New Year!

Brussels

After spending a few days in Bonn and Cologne, Marie, Nick, Brian, and I jumped on a train and were off to Belgium. It took 4 separate trains to get there…one that looked like it was built in the 1930’s. Our first order of business was to check out the Grand Place. It is by far the most beautiful plaza I’ve seen…so far. When we first walked into the plaza we were in awe of its beauty and architecture. As we were admiring the buildings, music started to play the Hallelujah Chorus. We all knew this was going to be a once in a lifetime experience and such a memorable moment. After seeing the plaza, we walked around to a few other sights, the peeing boy, his sister, the peeing girl, but shortly realized Brussels wouldn’t be complete without a Belgium Waffle. We indulged ourselves in a few yummy treats, then ventured back out to sight see. We ended up at the Delirium, the bar that has over 2600 beers. We all tried too many exotic beers, ranging between 8-13% alcohol. The beer was so good, it had to be, Marie drank 5…that has to be a record! (and I thought the bar held quite a record) Haha!

The next day I forced everyone out of bed so we could get to the Atomium as early as possible to beat the lines. This is a HUGE metal structure which resembles an atom and serves no purpose. It was built for the world exposition, like the Eiffel tower, but is anything but romantic or beautiful. We were able to go inside and go into the different areas. The view from the top was great, but the Atomium was not that impressive. The only thing impressive is that someone actually had the idea to build a giant atom that would serve no purpose…

We headed back to the city and checked out a few churches, including one that it is famous for peeing on. That’s right, you are allowed to pee on the church. It actually has pseudo urinals. And yes, you guessed right, Brian put them to good use. We then decided to venture out to the “best French Fries in Brussels”, but were a little disappointed that it was closed. With our hunger building, we decided Mussels in Brussels were the way to go for dinner. We all tried the mussels, including Marie! No one actually liked them…except Brian!! He’s becoming quite the seafood lover… We decided to head back to the hotel early, since we drank all of the beer in Belgium the night before and had an early train ride to Paris this morning. We’ll be in Paris for the next 2 days and are excited for our next adventure!

Merry Christmas from the VanAsperen girls!

Marie and Nick made it to Germany safe and sound! Brian and I picked up Marie and Nick yesterday from the Amsterdam airport. Being with them really made Christmas wonderful! On our way back to Bonn, we made a side trip to Asperen, Netherlands. Our expectations were pretty low, but the city was incredibly cute and only about 10 minutes off the beaten path...

The town is about one street which is made all of brick. At the end of the street, there is a huge cathedral and a few homes. We spent about 45 minutes walking around the town and pretending that we knew everyone that lived there or that we are in some way related. All of the shops and restaurants were closed, but we did get a good feel of the town and were definitely surprised by the community.

We made it back to Bonn around 4pm. We put the turkey in and started getting everything ready for Christmas dinner. Marie and Nick were pretty tired from the flight, but were able to stay awake to enjoy the holiday! After days and hours of waiting, I was finally able to open my gifts. ;) It was a tough day of waiting, but in the end, worth the wait... We had a great Christmas dinner and wonderful night!

Today we are heading over to Cologne to see the sights and of course the cathedral. Everything is closed today for Christmas so we're hoping that we're able to find a good German restaurant tonight so Marie and Nick can have some yummy German food.

Just because Brian is so excited about his mustache, but refuses to take a good picture, I'm posting this one...maybe it will encourage him to shave... (probably not) Any encouragement will be greatly appreciated!

We all missed everyone back at home so much, but are excited about our travels over the next few weeks!

Merry Christmas Eve...from Luxembourg

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas Eve. Brian and I spent the day in Luxembourg. The city is only 2 hours from Bonn so we made the short trip to enjoy a little sight-seeing. Although it's a small country, the city offered a great atmosphere and really had the old European feel with a touch of modern. It was a short day, but we were able to get a feel for the city and see a new country.

Tomorrow Marie and Nick arrive! We're so excited. Tonight Brian and I will just be getting everything ready for Christmas tomorrow. For Christmas dinner, we'll be having Marie, Nick, Brad, and Daniel. I'm cooking my first ham and also a small turkey. It should be interesting...

Brian and I really miss you all and can't wait to see you next year!

Ice Skating and Our Christmas Trip

Last night Brian and I ventured out into the cold wintry weather to go ice skating. Bonn has 2 different open air ice skating rinks in the city. Both are fully decorated with Christmas lights and play US and German Christmas carols. We skated for about an hour and although I'm a horrible ice skater, I had a great time. Bonn continues to put me in the Christmas mood, especially now that Brian and I are both on break. We're both done with work and class until January...

We decided to hold off on travel until Marie and Nick arrive in 6 days. Our Christmas trip will be a lot of traveling, but is going to be so much fun! We begin our trip by picking Marie and Nick up in Amsterdam on Christmas day. We're planning (if Marie and Nick aren't too exhausted) to walk around the city for a short time (everything will be closed) then head back to Bonn. On our way back, we're going to stop at Asperen, Netherlands.


A little Van Asperen history:
I don't know much about my family heritage, but I do know that when my ancestors came to America, they took the last name of the village they came from..."Asperen" Van in Dutch means from, so we apparently took the name "from Asperen" which is "Van Asperen". Asperen was a former municipality in Zuid-Holland; since 1 Jan 1986 it is part of Lingewaal municipality in Gelderland province. It was part of the region known as "Vijf-herenlanden". To the right is the Asperen flag. The colors are from the old Asperen arms. The Asperen arms are for the original family which settled in Asperen, the Van Arkel's. Supposedly, the family was guided to this tribal land by a swan which is where they settled. The ship represents the location of the village on the Linge River.


That's about all I've researched about my family history, but it should be exciting to see...we'll return to Bonn in the late afternoon and have a nice Christmas dinner. On the 26th we're going to spend the day in Cologne. We leave on the 27th for Brussels, Belgium. We spend 2 nights there before heading to Paris, France on the 29th. We will do some great sight-seeing and leave on New Year's Eve for Dublin, Ireland. We'll bring in the New Year in style with Irish music and our own pub crawl. We're meeting some of our friends in Dublin as well. We fly into Dusseldorf, Germany on January 2nd and plan to spend a few hours there if we're not too exhausted. We'll have a relaxing night back in Bonn before driving to Switzerland on the 3rd. Our drive will be through southern Germany, Austria, and the smallest German speaking country in the world: Liechtenstein. We'll be in Savognin, Switzerland for 3 days and will ski down the Swiss Alps (I'm so nervous). We're staying in a winter sports city so there will be everything from skiing to curling. We head back to Bonn on January 6th. Marie and Nick leave on the 7th. We will all probably be so exhausted, but it will be so much fun!

Our Christmas Party

On Friday night, Brian and I hosted our first Christmas party. We enjoyed singing Christmas carols, Christmas games, great holiday food and drinks, and of course ugly sweaters. The party was fun and definitely got everyone in the Christmas spirit.


The first picture is of all of the TLP's in Germany singing Christmas carols and the picture to the right is of Brian playing one of our Xmas games.


This is Brian's last week of work until January 5th, so he'll probably be really busy trying to get everything done before the holidays. I have class this week, but won't babysit because the family is back in the States for the holidays.

O Tannenbaum

Brian and I are ready for Christmas! We have our tree up and are starting to decorate a little bit for the holidays and Marie and Nick's arrival! Only 16 more days! Does my excitement show? Haha! This week is going great! We're having a Christmas party on Friday night, so we've been trying to get everything ready for this weekend! I hope everyone is getting excited for the holidays!

Back to School...

I finally decided to force myself to sign up for German classes last week. I have been trying to find a good class since I got to Germany in September and I finally found a good school. Classes started this week at Steinke-Institut in Bonn. This is a very intense class, meeting 5 days a week (Monday - Friday) 9am-12:15. I've already learned a lot and am having a lot of fun. I definitely feel like I'm back in college. I have homework every night and an exam schedule. My class is made up of people from all over the world. There is a girl from Malaysia, a girl from China, a guy from Israel, a guy from Uzbekistan, a woman from Hungry, and a woman from California. Since we all speak different languages, class is taught only in German. This is definitely helping/forcing me learn fast.

Between class and babysitting, time is really flying by this week. Brian gets home tonight from Northern Germany. His plant visit went well and things are really coming together for him at work. The Bonn plant and office are on shut down from December 19 - January 4 so Brian will have more time off than anticipated for Christmas. We are starting to plan a trip to Sweden before Marie and Nick arrive on Christmas. Only 21 more days!

Athens, Greece

Brian and I spent the last 3 days in Athens, Greece. This was such an amazing experience. Athens is so much different than any of the other places I've been. It has so much history and different places to see. It seemed liked every minute we stumbled on another adventure.

After arriving on Friday night, we found our way to our hotel. The hotel we stayed at was very interesting and quite funky. The reception desks were old VW beetles and there was a monkey hanging in the hall. Our room came complete with a tiger skin blanket on the bed. It was a really fun place to stay. Our balcony overlooked a beautiful plaza.

The next morning, Brian and I were able to tour the Acropolis to see the Parthenon. It rained the entire day, but we were still able to get to the top and see everything. The only positive thing about all of the rain was the lack of tourists.

After a long day of sight-seeing and being soaking wet from head to toe, we decided to eat at a traditional Greek restaurant with a very warm fire place. The food was great! We were also able to experience a little night life as well. We didn't stay out too late because we knew we'd have to be rested for Sunday and our tour of the Aegina island. We were able to see a lot of different areas of the island while we were there. We took a horse and carriage ride and also rented a four wheeler. The weather was great, 70 and sunny. Before we left the island, we watched a beautiful sunset over the Aegean Sea. I really loved Greece and didn't want to leave!

We made it back to Bonn around 2pm today. Brian had to go into work and I had to pick up my text books for German class that starts tomorrow. I have it Monday - Friday from 9-12. It is going to be very intense, but I'm glad I'll be able to learn a little bit of the language while I'm here! Brian leaves tomorrow morning for a 3 day business trip to northern Germany. I should keep really busy between my classes and babysitting.

Happy Thanksgiving from Germany!

Happy Thanksgiving from Germany! I hope everyone had a Happy Turkey Day! Brian and I had a 'traditional' Thanksgiving dinner here in Bonn tonight. We had Brian's co-worker, Daniel, over for a turkey dinner so it wasn't just us. I was able to make turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, green bean casserole, gravy, rolls, and apple pie here in Bonn. It was a great dinner! The picture above is of Brian carving the turkey. The only thing it was missing was family. We miss everybody at home. It wasn't the same today, especially since Brian worked all day.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We leave tomorrow morning for Athens, Greece. I can't wait for a new adventure.

Let it Snow!

To all of those people who told me it NEVER snows in Bonn, I'd like you to take a look at this picture. Haha! I know it's not much snow, but there's definitely about an inch on the ground. Maybe people were right that it doesn't snow often in Bonn though. We actually saw quite a few adults throwing snow balls last night. It was pretty funny. :) It was nice to have the first snow fall though. It puts me in the mood for the Holidays.

Brian made it back safely to Germany on Saturday. His luggage was lost again (they lost it in Augusta last Monday), but luckily found after a few hours of waiting. Between Nick and Brian, I think they would win an award for airlines losing your bags. Brian and I had a relaxing weekend. We walked around the Christmas markets, bought a Christmas tree, and watched a few movies that he brought back from the States.

I hope everyone is getting ready for Thanksgiving this week! I'm sure the Haglund's are soaking up the sun in Hawaii. I wish we were there! I hope the VanAsperen's are helping mom get everything ready for Thursday...I wish I could help! I also hope Dave had a wonderful birthday!

Christmas Markets

The only positive thing about not being in the States for Thanksgiving (besides no football) is being in a country where the Christmas celebrations begin on November 21st! There's no waiting until after Thanksgiving to put up a tree or to start listening to Christmas music. It all starts today in Bonn. The picture above is of one of the many plazas in Bonn. Vendors set up little wooden shacks to sell Christmas goods. They include everything from cookies and warm wines to ornaments and Christmas gifts. Today the smell of pine trees, cinnamon, and gingerbread fill the air and the sounds of Christmas melodies consume the streets. Downtown is filled with lights hanging everywhere and Christmas decorations in all of the store windows. It's such a pleasant time to be in Germany.

Thanksgiving will be a little lonely on Thursday. I plan to try and find a turkey to cook and have a few sides, but not much since it's just us two. But don't feel too bad for us, we leave Friday morning to Athens, Greece! We're spending three nights there. I'm so excited to see a new place!
Brian returns tomorrow morning from Texas. His conference went well. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoys the holiday! I miss you all!!

Dusseldorf

Brian and I had a pretty slow weekend, but did manage to make it out in Dusseldorf on Friday night. Our friend, Stephan, was celebrating the completion of his thesis, so we decided to join his celebration. Dusseldorf is a pretty exciting town. We didn't do any sightseeing, but enjoyed the nightlife! Dusseldorf is different from Bonn. Bonn is a very casual city. It's rare to see people out on the weekends in dresses or suits. In Dusseldorf I felt a little under dressed. Many of the women were in dresses or nice outfits and the men were actually wearing suits and ties. It's funny to see such a difference in style only 70km away.

Brian left for the airport at 6am this morning. He has his TLP conference this week in Fort Worth, TX. It will be a pretty lonely week, but since his manager will be attending the conference as well, it will give me a pretty busy week of watching her children. I've still been watching her kids about 4 days a week. I don't have any exciting plans for this week, but Brian and I do have a fun Thanksgiving planned. We head to Athens, Greece on Friday, November 28th for a 3 night vacation. Since Brian doesn't get Thanksgiving off here, we're leaving Friday morning and returning Monday afternoon. I'm really looking forward to seeing a new place!

Family in Germany!

Lacy, Brian's cousin, arrived on October 28th! (sorry for not updating this until now...) We've had a lot of fun over the last two weeks. We traveled to Cologne; Amsterdam, Netherlands (for Halloween); and Brussels, Belgium.


The picture above is Brian and Lacy on her first night here. We sampled beer from a local brewery and ate traditional German cuisine. Lacy and I did some sightseeing around Bonn over the next few days while she was here.

This is a picture of Lacy and me on the University of Bonn grounds. We had some great weather and were able to see all of the sights in Bonn! After doing lots of sightseeing in the city, we decided to really get to know the culture of the city by going to a show. Lacy is an actor so she definitely wanted to experience Theater in Germany. Unfortunately, the show we attended was horrible! Haha! We obviously couldn't understand it, but it had no action. We're still not sure what the show was about, but we did understand that it was four people in business suits standing and talking in only one room....needless to say, we left after 30 minutes!

On the 31st, 7 of us went to Amsterdam to celebrate Halloween. We didn't dress up (since no one does or celebrates Halloween in Europe), but we had a lot of fun! We walked around the city, went to several bars, and really had a great time!

On the 3rd, Lacy and I went to Brussels. This city was amazing. It is a mix between old and new. I really didn't expect to see so many skyscrapers next to super old buildings. We did a lot of sightseeing and walked around the whole city. We of course sampled Belgium beer and ate waffles! :) I'm excited to go back when Marie and Nick are here. The picture above is of the plaza in Brussels.

On Friday, Brian's Dad, Randy, arrived in Bonn. We had such an amazing time with him. His co-worker lives very close to us. We met up with him on Saturday morning for a German breakfast at his home. Then he took us all over the area to experience Germany tourists rarely see. We went to two towns that still had the town walls around them. We also went to the vineyards and sampled some of the local wine. Then we ended our tour in a village to see the bonfires and torch designs in the hills. We had such a great time! I'm going to miss having family around!

Cologne

Last week wasn't too exciting, but we still managed to have some fun. My babysitting job started and it kept me very busy. My schedule is supposed to start at 2:30 and I pick the 5 year old and 10 month old up at school/daycare. Then we spend about 4 hours at the house before I'm picked up and dropped off around 6:30. This is a very appealing schedule. I have all morning to get things done around the apartment, make it to the gym and to the market all before I start watching the kids. Unfortunately, last week Sam was off from school and I was watching her for 10 hours a day. It made for a very long week.... I'm starting to get used to babysitting though. It's pretty funny to think about because I haven't actually been paid for babysitting since Luke and Jenn (my cousins) were little - kind of funny that I'm now getting paid for it, 10 years or so later. :)

On Friday night, the other TLP, Brad, had a friend come into town. We decided to go out in Cologne. This is a much bigger city than Bonn and has a lot more to do. It's only about a 25 minute train ride. We had a great time out and were even able to sing karaoke (in English).

The picture above is of the Dom (huge Cathedral) in Cologne. Construction of this church began in 1248 and took, with interruptions, until 1880 to complete – a period of over six hundred years! It's such a beautiful Cathedral. Here's a picture of the interior. I didn't take very many pictures so it doesn't really do it justice, but it should give you an idea of what it's like inside.

This week should be far more eventful. Lacy arrives TOMORROW! I'm so excited to have her here for 2 weeks. Randy will also be here on November 7th! For Halloween, a group of 7 (Me, Brian, Lacy, Brad, Nick, Daniel, and Gabby) will be going to Amsterdam. I'm not sure what we're dressing up as, but I'm super excited. This is going to be such a fun couple of weeks.

Switzerland

On Friday, Brian and I drove 5 hours to Luzern, Switzerland. We arrived around 8pm and met up with Brian's college roommate, Jon Ong. We were able to enjoy some of the Swiss night life and beautiful mountains. Since Jon was leaving the Saturday morning, Brian and I were planning to drive to Zurich and do some sightseeing. We definitely didn't expect the city to be as amazing as it was, so when we woke up the next day, we opted to stay in Luzern and drive into the mountains.

We did some sightseeing in the city first before exploring the mountains. It was a little hazy, so we weren't able to see as much as we would have hoped, but it was still breathtaking. We decided to take a gondola lift up to the top so we could get a better view and do some hiking! We were able to explore the area and had an amazing time. I really think Switzerland is the most beautiful place I've ever been. I'm very excited to go back again in December with Marie and Nick for a 3 day ski trip!

Brian and I drove home on Saturday night. Brian was able to drive in the no speed limit zones for quite a while and was going 120mph! It was a little scary, but at least it wasn't me driving!

This week Brian may be traveling to some of the plants, but we don't have much else planned. I started babysitting for Brian's boss today. I'll be watching her kids for 4 hours a day except when we're traveling or have visitors! I had a lot of fun on my frist day and am excited to have a job a few hours a day. They have a cat so I'm pretty excited to have an animal around since I'm really missing Sammy and Tiki!

Our Building

Per my mother's request, here's a picture of our apartment building in Bonn. Our window is the lowest window to the left of the door.

My mom also wanted to see our street. This is a picture of the street our apartment is on looking towards the Rhine.

Things are going really great here. Last week was pretty quiet. I had a really bad cold and am just getting over it. (I guess that's what sleeping outside for 3 nights in a tent will do...) We don't have much planned for this week, but we're planning to go to Switzerland this weekend if we're able to get a car from Kautex. The plane and train tickets are too expensive to Switzerland so we're waiting on the response from Brian's manager.

One of Brian's college roommates, Jon Ong, will be in Howr, Switzerland for work on Friday night and we really want to visit him. If we're able to go, we'd spend Friday in Howr and Saturday in Zurich. I really hope it works out.

The weather here has been pretty nice over the last week. It's been in the low 60's and hasn't rained in a few days! I've been a little homesick after hearing about the 80 degree weather, fun tailgates, pumpkin carving, and hot cider in Michigan, but still am having a great time and looking forward to this weekend! Luckily Lacy will be here in 2 weeks! I can't wait! :)

Oktoberfest

What a weekend! 3 nights, 4 boys, 1 girl (me), 1 tent, 30 degree (Fahrenheit) weather, continuous rain, and german beer! That basically sums up our weekend at Oktoberfest. There were so many people celebrating at the festival. This was the last weekend of Oktoberfest and Friday was a German Holiday (Day of German Unity). This made the festival extra busy and the most beer consumption I've ever seen in a single location.

There are 14 different beer tents, each a different brew. All of the tents allow up to 6 or 7 thousand people into the tents! In order to get in, we had to arrive around 8am just to make it inside. Once inside, you're lucky if you can get a seat. We did luck out and get seats Saturday! Inside the tents, you'll find food, music, thousands of people, beer, beer, and more beer. I noticed people of all ages in the tent - old and young, but everyone had something in common....BEER! We were singing, dancing on benches, eating traditional food, drinking HUGE beers and really taking in the experience.

After a good 10 hours or so at the festival, we'd head back to the campground to a night of camping. This was the coldest experience I've ever had. Sleeping in 30 degree weather just isn't as fun as you'd think... ;) In the morning, our car was actually frozen shut and there was a 1/2 inch of ice on the windows. Although the nights were rough, I wouldn't have missed a chance to experience Oktoberfest. It was an experience of a lifetime and definitely exceeded my expectations.

We arrived back in Bonn yesterday around 3pm. Brian leaves today to visit a plant in Northern Germany, but I choose to stay home this time. I need a little time to relax and warm up!

Mallersdorf

We arrived in Mallersdorf last night around midnight. Brian will be traveling all week to 2 different plants and I decided to go with him. I was warned that this city was very remote, but I think I completely underestimated what "remote" means. The picture above actually captures the entire city.

Since it was dark when we got to our hotel last night, I wasn't sure what to expect within the city. We're staying at a small Bed and Breakfast in the town. After Brian, Brad, and Nick left for work this morning, I slowly woke up, got ready for the day, and went downstairs. I assumed I could get breakfast, but it turned out I missed it. I went out in search of Breakfast or coffee, but quickly realized it only took me about 3 minutes to walk through the entire town and not a single restaurant or store...haha!

Brian forgot to mention there would be 2 of us staying in a room, so we ended up with a single bed last night. Since the reception was closed (our room keys were sitting on a table), we decided we'd try and change in the morning. So this morning, Brian requested to move to a double room. After I went down to get our new keys, I found out she put us into the biggest room! It's really nice, with a couch, large bathroom, and queen bed! I love it - it's definitely country Germany at it's best. The owner realized I didn't make it to breakfast and made me breakfast and even invited me to eat lunch with her family! Talk about hospitality!

Well, tomorrow night we're off to the Czech Republic to another plant...it should be an interesting road trip!

Amsterdam

After Liz, Bridgett, and Diane left on Saturday, Brian and I decided it was time for us to start traveling more. We jumped on a train to Amsterdam and 3 hours later, we were exploring a new city. Since this was such a random trip, we didn't really research much of the city before arriving. I visited Amsterdam about 4 years ago, so Brian was definitely looking to me for directions. As many of you may know, my memory is not so great.... we got a little lost, but still were able to make it a great trip.

On our first night, we walked around the city, enjoyed the local cuisine, and checked out the Red Light District. The Red Light District made me pretty uncomfortable and feel really sorry for the girls...but I did find out that they are unionized if you can believe that!

On Sunday, Brian and I first wondered over to the Van Gough Museum. The line was really long so Brian decided we'd have to wait until our next trip. We did make it to the Anne Frank House, which is a great Museum! Since we didn't really know where all of the sights were, we decided to take a boat tour around the city. This was a great way to see the city and all of the sights!

K College Volleyball Girls Reunite in Germany

Brian and I had our first visitors this weekend! Liz, Bridgett, and Diane stayed with us for 2 nights last weekend. They arrived late on Thursday night and left Saturday morning. Liz, Bridgett, and I all played volleyball at K together. I ran into them in Kalamazoo when I was in town for Michelle's wedding. After a quick conversation, we realized they would be in Germany and would be traveling to Bonn for 2 days.

We were able to do some sightseeing in the city on Friday. We went to the Beethoven House Museum, walked along the Rhine, visited the dorm room Liz lived here while on Study abroad, saw the University and Botanical Gardens. It was a beautiful day, sunny and 70's! It was the warmest day so far! On Friday night, we headed out for a night on the town. It was a great reunion and we all had a little too much fun!

Our first night out

This is a picture from our first night out in Bonn. So far, this is the group we've been going out with in the city. (From the left, Brad - a TLP working with Brian, Brian, Me, Gabby - a Kautex employee/citizen of the Czech Republic, and Nick - a former TLP who repatriated to Bonn)

Last night all 5 of us went to see The Dark Knight in English! It was nice to see an American movie here. It was Gabby's first time watching a movie in English at the theater.

This weekend Brian and I have our first visitors. My friends from K, Liz and Bridgett, are staying with us Thursday - Sunday! It will be really nice to have friends here and great to catch up with my old teammates! I'm sure I'll have more pictures from this weekend to post. :)

Next week Brian will start traveling to a few of the Kautex plants and I'll be able to go with him. We'll start Monday at the Leer facility in Northern Germany, then on Thursday we'll be in Mallarsdorf...conveniently located near Munich. We'll spend the weekend in Munich at Oktoberfest then head out on Sunday to Prague. I can't wait to see all of these new places and experience Oktoberfest!

Sammy came to visit...

After a week long trip to the States, Brian made it back to Germany last night. Our dog, Sammy, has really missed us and some how made it into Brian's suitcase! This picture is of Sammy sitting on a pillow in our living room! :)

Ok, so that picture is a present Brian brought me back since I've really been missing my babies! Here's a picture is of my real pup and kitty. I miss them like crazy!!!

We are very lucky to have Sammy and Tiki staying with their Grandparents for 6 months! We wish they could be here, but we know Grandma and Grandpa Haglund are taking great care of them both! In fact, Sammy actually sleeps with them every night.

Brian and I welcomed Sammy (our dog) and Tiki (our cat) into our family almost 2 years ago. Sammy is a puggle, 1/2 pug and 1/2 beagle. He's loves being around people and never wants to be alone. He loves sleeping all day, but gets very excited at the sight of new people. When he's in the mood to play, he'll run circles around the house or yard. He's really good at playing fetch indoors and tug of war.

Tiki is a very sneaky cat. We actually call him sneaks! His favorite thing to do is....you guessed it....eat. He's an 18 pound cat!! We try to keep him on a diet, but he tends to either eat Sammy's food or sneaks dinner off our plates when we're not looking! He and Sammy love to play together. They play like 2 dogs, maybe because they are so close in weight. :)

As you can tell, I really miss Sams and Sneaks! I can't wait to see them in March!

Our New Place

This is not the most exciting video in the world, but it shows our new apartment! Have a look and see where we'll be living for the next 6 months! We really like the apartment. It's only two blocks from the Rhine and a block from all of the shops, restaurants, and bars. The only thing it's missing is a dryer, microwave, and dishwasher...I guess I'll have to learn how to iron, cook, and hand wash dishes. ;)

Cramped Quarters

This is the hotel room we've been staying in for the last few nights. As you can see it's very spacious and such a lovely living environment. Haha! Brian and I are ready to get out of this place and into our apartment. There's a chance we could move into our place tonight, so fingers crossed!

A word of advice...make sure when in Germany you let the hotel receptionist know there will be two people in the hotel room when booking. Kautex forgot to mention that piece of information and this is where we've been living. It's in a great location in the city, so I've decided it's better than our first hotel that was a 30 minute walk downtown. :)

Bonn

We arrived in Bonn last week. It's been quite an adventure. We are yet to move into our apartment, so we've been living in a hotel for about a week. We're suppose to have it this weekend, so I'm very excited to say the least. For the last week, we've been trying to explore the city. I love walking by the Rhine and window shopping in the city center. It's very peaceful by the river. There are long bike and walking paths that run the length of the river with lots of benches and grassy areas to sit and read.

We've also been able to experience a bit of the night life. Beer seems to be a way of life here, but it's definitely not the Miller Light I'm used to. It's definitely good beer and of course, I really like it... :) The bars have been fun, but I'm still waiting for the shout out to "hefeweizen" from Brian.

I interviewd in Cologne on Monday. That was an experience. I was very lost in the city for about an hour. Thank goodness for cell phones, I was able to call Brian and he googled my destination. I made it there just in time with a few minutes to spare! I got the job, but I'm not sure of all the details yet. I'm talking with the manager today to hear more about the position and details. I'm not sure if I want to commute that far, but it depends on what the offer is.

I miss everyone back home, especially talking to my family everyday. My mom was right...I definitely miss hearing her voice 5 times a day!

Augusta

Brian and I had a great time visiting the city of Augusta. EZ-GO gives us a lot to think about. I loved the city! It's a very beautiful place and I would love to live there in the future. Over the next few months, Brian will continue to decide where he wants to end up after his rotation in Germany. I'm excited to settle down and find a place to live.

Visiting Papa

Brian and I visited Papa and Margaret Ann last weekend in Roanoke, VA. We had a lot of fun and were able to spend some time with Brian's grandpa. Time is really going quickly and our move to Germany seems to be creeping up on me. I can't believe it's only a few weeks away. I finally bought boxes and am getting ready to start packing. We're off to Augusta, GA on Thursday. Brian has an interview and I'm excited to tour the town.

Chicago

Brian and I enjoyed a weekend in Chicago for my mom's birthday. We successfully surprised her! She had no idea we were flying in for her birthday!

The Beginning

When Brian proposed 2 years ago, I never would have guessed that I would have been traveling for Brian's job for the last 18 months. After living in Wichita and Fort Worth, you'd think I was sick of moving. When Brian was given the chance to work in Bonn, Germany for 6 months, I've never been so excited. We're excited for the adventures ahead and ready to move yet again.